Winter Birding Weekend in the Central Adirondacks

Enjoy a weekend of birding events in the Central Adirondacks this winter. Events will include field trips, a presentation, and social dinner. With the most abundant food crop in 20 years, it should be an exciting winter to see birds! Participants will look for winter irruptive species such as Bohemian Waxwings, Red and White-winged Crossbills, Common and Hoary Redpolls, Pine Siskins, and Evening Grosbeaks, along with year-round boreal residents such as Black-backed Woodpeckers, Gray Jays, and Boreal Chickadees.

Field Trips: Joan Collins will lead field trips on both days. The main field trip will take place on Sunday, January 28, 2018. There will be an optional field trip on Saturday, January 27, 2018 for those who arrive early. (In the event of inclement weather on Sunday, the Saturday trip will become the main field trip.) Meet at the Geiger Arena parking area at 8 a.m. (across from the Long Lake Post Office). Participants can car-pool to reduce the number of cars in our train.

Presentation: Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m., Joan Collins will present “Winter Bird Visitors of Northern New York” at the Long Lake Town Hall. Each year, avian visitors from the far north move south to spend the winter in our northern New York region. Some of the species, like Bohemian Waxwing and Snow Bunting, can be found every winter. Other species, such as Pine Grosbeak, irregularly irrupt, while some species visit on a fairly regular schedule, such as the Common Redpoll, which arrives every-other winter. Why the birds move to our region, and where you can find them, will be discussed. The presentation, which is open to the public, will feature nineteen species that visit northern New York in winter using photographs, audio, and video. This event is open to the public, no sign ups necessary, so if you can’t make the expeditions, join Joan Collins for this special presentation at 4 p.m. on Saturday, January 27th.

Speaker: Joan Collins, President of Adirondack Avian Expeditions & Workshops, LLC, leads birding trips year-round, is a New York State licensed guide, and Adirondack 46er. She is Editor of New York Birders, Vice-President of Northern New York Audubon, and past President of the New York State Ornithological Association. Joan has published several journal, magazine, and newspaper articles on wildlife and conservation topics in various publications including New York Birders, Conservationist, Adirondack Life Magazine, LOCALadk Magazine, and The Kingbird. She authored several warbler species accounts, in addition to serving as a peer reviewer for The Second Atlas of Breeding Birds in New York State. Joan is a frequent guest speaker and teaches classes on ornithology topics.

Dinner at the Adirondack Hotel: A social dinner will follow the Saturday afternoon presentation. Participants will gather at the Adirondack Hotel in Long Lake after the talk and dinner will begin at 6:30 p.m.

Registration is required to attend the field trips. Call the Long Lake Parks and Recreation Department at 518-624-3077 to register. There is a maximum of 25 participants for each field trip. The presentation and dinner at the Adirondack Hotel are open to the public. If you plan to attend dinner at the Adirondack Hotel after the presentation, please call the Long Lake Parks and Recreation Department to let them know. Please register by January 24th.

Places to Stay: The Adirondack Hotel (http://www.adirondackhotel.com/ ) or check out the Winter Lodging List provided by the Town of Long Lake’s website. Link https://mylonglake.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/Winter-Lodging-2018-rev.pdf The Long Lake Diner opens for breakfast at 6:30 a.m. Stewarts offers quick breakfast items. On Saturday, participants can pre-order lunch from the ADK Trading Post for pick-up along our birding route. Menus will be sent to participants. Sunday’s lunch plans will be decided as the winter progresses and our birding route is planned for that day.

The Winter Birding Weekend is sponsored by the Long Lake Parks and Recreation Department and cosponsored by Northern New York Audubon.